Hideki Matsuyama is in contention to win his first FedEx Cup, but he is still battling multiple injuries at the Tour Championship.
Hideki Matsuyama has confirmed he is still not fully fit as he goes in search of his first FedEx Cup title at this week’s Tour Championship.
Matsuyama, 32, was forced to withdraw due a back injury ahead of the second round when in contention for the BMW Championship last week.
Despite the WD, the 2021 Masters champion remains in third spot in the PGA Tour’s season-long FedEx Cup standings going into this week’s final event with a record $25m on the line for the winner.
The good news for Matsuyama fans is that he is going to tee it up in Thursday’s first round at the 30-man Tour Championship at East Lake.
He will start the week on 7-under par in the staggered scoring start, which is three shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler.
The bad news is that Matsuyama is battling not just a back injury at the moment but also a neck injury, too.
Related: Tour Championship leaderboard – full starting scores at the FedEx Cup finale
According to Golf Injury Report on X / Twitter, Matsuyama has confirmed his back feels at around 50-60% but that he thinks he will still be able to complete all four rounds.
In comments obtained by Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis ahead of the first round, Matsuyama’s team said “his back is still not 100% but that he intends to play this week.”
Matsuyama also revealed he was dealing with a neck issue at the BMW Championship last week, something that has plagued him off and on for the best part of two years.
The World No.7 is understood to be focusing his efforts on not only winning a first FedEx Cup title this week, but also getting himself fully fit for the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal in Canada in four weeks’ time.
Hideki Matsuyama Q (Back) said his back still feels 50-60% but he thinks he can make it all four days. He added that his mind is on being able to play in the Presidents Cup. He said he was dealing with a neck issue last week as well.@NUCLRGOLF | @TrackingHideki pic.twitter.com/kVj2zJIf9n
— Golf Injury Report (@InjuryReportPGA) August 28, 2024
Matsuyama has already booked his place in Mike Weir’s International Presidents Cup team for their biennial clash against Jim Furyk’s United States from 26-29 September.
Tom Kim, Sungjae Im, Jason Day, Adam Scott and Byeong Hun An have also secured places in the team.
Weir will announce his six captain’s picks at a press conference next Tuesday.
The Internationals have only won the Presidents Cup once in 14 renewals.
That came in a 20.5-11.5 rout at Royal Melbourne in Australia in 1998.
They also tied with the USA at Fancourt in South Africa in 2003.
But aside from that it’s been a clean sweep for the stars and stripes
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